Chapter 11
My heart and soul pleaded with them to help me. Anna remained standing where she was, shocked at seeing my returning so soon. Velkan did not make a move as well, wiping away a bead of sweat on his forehead. Defeated, I lowered my head.
"Please…" I managed to say. I struggled to raise myself to a standing position, failing miserably. "You must help me. You must help my family." I continued. Velkan was the first to respond. He approached me slowly and knelt down beside me. I felt his hand at my back as he spoke.
"Come now, Christine." He said. I looked up at him and smiled weakly. He barely smiled and looked away from me for a moment. "Let me help you up. Come and seat yourself, you must be exhausted." He continued. I allowed him to take my arm gently and help me to stand. "What has happened?" he asked after a moment.
"The Count has done something." Anna said simply. "Has he said anything to you?" she said simply, coming to my side. I looked away.
I backed myself away from Velkan and Anna, keeping my gaze locked on them. "He has already killed my family. I am sure of it." I said simply. I turned away from them and found a chair. I fell into it, defeated. "That is why he has let me go. He has killed my family." I said. Velkan shook his head in denial.
"He hasn't done that." Velkan said assuredly. "I'm positive." I glared at him angrily.
"How can you be so sure of it, Velkan?" I asked suddenly. I blushed furiously at hearing his name come from my lips. Velkan's cheeks burned bright red for a moment, before he responded. Hearing his name come from my lips had caught him off guard.
"I'm sure of it, yes." Velkan said simply. "I spoke to your cousin only yesterday. You remember William, do you not?" he asked. My eyes widened in happiness.
"Where is he?" I asked. Velkan smirked.
"He is in the next province." He answered. Anna spoke suddenly.
"I will call him. He has been looking for you. I'm glad to have been able to find you so soon." She said. "He was beginning to become worried." Velkan smiled at his sister, coming to her side. I watched as he leaned into her ear, whispering something quickly. They parted after some moments, and he turned to face me.
"It may take sometime for him to arrive for you." Velkan said simply. "You may rest here until he comes. Come, I will take you to your room. Anna must send message to your cousin that we have finally found you." He persisted. I smiled.
"Thank you, Prince Valerious." I said in reply. He nodded in affirmation. I looked to Anna and smiled gratefully. "Thank you." I said.
"Go, follow my brother, he will bring you to your room." Anna replied.
"When shall I expect my cousin to arrive for me?" I asked simply. Anna took a moment before replying.
"Perhaps a day or two." Anna said simply. "It is winter, the roads are much harder to take at this time of year." She continued. "Now go." I approached her and took her hand gratefully. She looked at me with a mix of surprise and happiness in her eyes. Velkan slowly approached me from behind and gently took my arm, steering me in the direction of the room I was to stay in. I smiled at Anna before allowing him to lead me away.
I followed him through the darkly lit rooms of his home, my heart still beating wildly at being by his side once again. Memories of what the Count had revealed to me, memories of his conversations, his accusations burned holes into my memory. I stared into the back of Velkan, my heart breaking in two. He interrupted my thoughts by suddenly stopping by a door. He opened it quietly and turned to me, a small smile playing on his lips.
"This is your room." He said quietly, motioning me to enter. My eyes widened a little as I hesitated to enter the room. He noticed this and motioned with his head to enter. "Go." He said simply. I approached him slowly and slid past him, feeling the soft fabric of his shirt brush against my arm. I shuddered.
It took a moment for me to adjust to the darkness in the room. I could smell a bit of mustiness as I entered and I could sense the lack of use this room had. Velkan remained at the door, his strong gaze still locked on me, making my cheeks burn in embarrassment. How lucky I was to not have any light…such a lovesick schoolgirl I appeared to be. I felt in the darkness for the end of the bed, and feeling the bedpost I stopped and faced him. Velkan remained exactly where he stood.
"Would you like some light?" he asked innocently from the doorway. I nodded and replied.
"That would be preferable." I said simply. My heart began to beat loudly as he entered the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He brushed by me, so close that I could smell barely a hint of a scent he wore. Mixed with it, I could sense the smell of brush and dirt on his muddied shirt. It took a moment before light harshly entered the room, and I saw him standing opposite me by the large antique vanity table, laden with perfumes and oils. He smiled at me and I looked away from him.
"Your things are already here?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders.
"So my man told me." I said suddenly. Hearing the words escape my lips, so high pitched and nervous, I smiled quickly. "The man who brought me here told me my things were already here." I continued hurriedly. Velkan smiled at me and took a step forward.
"I'll have your things brought up." He said simply. Instead of walking directly to the door, he approached me, standing inches from where I now stood, at the end of the bed. "Has he hurt you?" he asked quietly. I moved away from him.
"No." I said quickly. "He didn't hurt me. He told me himself that he couldn't finish me." I said. Velkan smirked in answer. I turned away from him and headed towards the small vanity table, taking a seat in front of it. I picked up a perfume bottle, and opened it, smelling the aromatic scent that came from the small container. I stole a quick glance at him through the mirror and saw his gaze locked on me. It made me uneasy. I looked away from the mirror and forced myself to seem occupied with the brushes and scents that lay on the table in front of me. Velkan did not move to leave.
"What is that I see on your neck?" he asked quietly. I looked down. He approached me quietly, and I felt his cold fingers pull back the hair from my neck, exposing the wound that the Count had inflicted.
"It is a cut." I said simply. "The Count cut me and tried to drink from me…" I said. Velkan did not reply for a moment.
"He tried, eh? I'm surmising that he didn't succeed. It is rather interesting that it seems to be in the same spot he originally wounded you." Velkan said with a small laugh. I stood from my seat and turned to face him. "How did you stop him?" he asked, smiling. I glared at him angrily. "No! I really would like to know!" he said quickly. I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously before continuing.
"I took a spoke from the fireplace and hit him with it. It angered him, but he let me go." I said simply. Velkan laughed uproariously. I could only glare at him angrily.
"It's not funny!" I said angrily. I tried to move around him to leave, but he caught my wrists with his hands, stopping me suddenly. He had slowly begun to stop laughing.
"I am glad you are alright." He said quietly to me. I looked up at him, surprised. He smiled down at me. "I supposed he would look for you. I had your things brought here by the carriage man." He said. I looked at him surprised, forgetting for a moment that he still held my hands.
"How did you know I was still even alive." I answered. He smiled.
"I told you the other night, didn't I? If he wanted you dead, he would have done it the night he saw you." He said simply. His voice slowly began to trail off as he looked down at me. It was moments before I realized he had leaned down to kiss me. I pulled away at the last moment, surprised.
"I can't." I said simply. He looked at me, somewhat surprised. I tried to pull away from his grip, but he refused. Memories of my dream still haunted me as I looked at Velkan. Images of our dance, and the feeling of him leaning in to kiss me, only to find out that it was the Count…It sent my heart racing.
"I don't understand why." He said simply, smiling at me. "You are of age, are you not?" he asked simply. I shook my head in defiance. "How old are you?" he asked.
"I am one and twenty." I said simply. He smiled.
"Then I do not see what is wrong." He said simply. He leaned down to kiss me again, but again I refused. He laughed. "Has he poisoned your mind against me?" Velkan asked simply. I said nothing.
"We cannot do this." I said simply. "He would want us to, Velkan. Don't you understand?" I asked simply. Velkan shook his head in confusion.
"I don't." he said simply. "I only want to kiss you, nothing more." Velkan said after a moment more of silence.
"The Count wants this. He told me!" I said, almost madly. His eyes widened in shock.
"What does the Count have to do with this?" he asked quietly. "Tell me what he told you." He continued. A sudden knock at the door was heard, and he suddenly freed me, hurrying back towards the bed. I turned and hid my reddened face in embarrassment. It was a few moments before I heard Anna.
"May I come in?" she asked. Velkan smiled and called to her. The redness in my cheeks had finally subsided as I heard her hand at the doorknob.
"Come!" he called. I had taken a seat at the vanity table. I stole a quick glance at Velkan through the mirror and noticed his cheeks flushed in nervousness. I smiled at him, and he smiled weakly back at me, before the door suddenly opened, revealing his sister at the other end.
"I spoke to your cousin." Anna said, coming immediately to my side. "He will be here tomorrow morning for you." I looked at her happily.
"Thank you, Anna. I owe you and your brother an enormous debt of gratitude." I answered. She smiled in answer.
"You can begin by tell us what happened to you." She said simply. She looked to Velkan, noticing the flushed look on his face. "Are you alright, Velkan?" she asked. I broke in suddenly.
"He is alright. I was talking to him only a moment ago. It seems that he is a little tired from being out all night, aren't you?" I asked him. He smiled gratefully and looked to his sister seconding my answer.
"I'm only a little tired, Anna." He said simply. Anna smiled.
"Go rest, Velkan. You need it." Velkan shook his head vigorously, looking to me.
"No. I cannot rest until I have heard what she has to say. I will stay." Velkan insisted. Anna shrugged her shoulders and looked to me.
"Well, I suppose we start at the beginning." Anna said plainly. Velkan glared at me with an expectant look in his eyes. Little did he know I would choose to leave out some aspects of my story, he would not get his answer.
"I suppose…" I murmured.